• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.665-670
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• 2019

Sporulated oocysts from the feces of infected cats with Toxoplasma gondii can cause detrimental disease in both humans and animals. To investigate the prevalence of feral cats that excrete T. gondii oocysts in the feces, we examined fecal samples of 563 feral cats over a 3-year period from 2009 to 2011. Oocysts of T. gondii excreted into the feces were found from 4 of 128 cats in 2009 (3.1%) and one of 228 (0.4%) in 2010 while none of the 207 cats in 2010 were found positive with oocysts in their feces, resulting in an overall prevalence rate of 0.89% (5/563) between 2009 and 2011. Among the 5 cats that tested positive with T. gondii oocysts, 4 of the cats were male and 1 was a female with an average body weight of 0.87 kg. Numerous tissue cysts of 60 ㎛ in diameter with thin (<0.5 ㎛) cyst walls were found in the brain of one of the 5 cats on necropsy 2 months after the identification of oocysts in the feces. A PCR amplification of the T. gondii-like oocysts in the feces of the positive cats using the primer pairs Tox-5/Tox-8 and Hham34F/Hham3R confirmed the presence of T. gondii oocysts in the feces. This study provides a good indication of the risk assessment of feral cats in the transmission of T. gondii to humans in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.249-252
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• 2022

Giardiasis is widespread all over the world, and it is a disease that causes both acute and chronic digestive symptoms. It is zoonotic disease that affects animals and humans. There are few studies on giardiasis in stray cats due to difficulties in catching and sampling. Therefore, this study evaluated the prevalence of giardiasis in stray cats in the Daejeon city because of increasing interest as zoonotic disease. The specimens were the feces of stray cats captured for the neutering project (TNR) in Daejeon; 30 fecal samples were collected from 2021 to 2022 in each of 5 districts in Daejeon. A total of 150 samples were collected. All samples were tested for giardiasis using the Giardia SNAP kit (SNAP^Ⓡ test, IDEXX Laboratories. Inc., Westbrook, ME). The overall prevalence rate was 46 out of 150 cats (30.7%). By age, 25 out of 71 juvenile cats (35.2%) were positive, and 21 out of 79 adult cats (26.6%) were positive. A total of 19 out of 69 cats (27.5%) with diarrhea were positive, and 27 out of 81 asymptomatic cats (33.3%) were positive. For gender, 38 out of 99 females (38.4%) were positive, and 8 out of 51 males (15.7%) were positive. The positive rate of giardiasis in stray cats was over 30%, which is high compared to other research results. It is necessary to increase the public's awareness of the value of deworming stray cats and the sanitation of people who have come into contact with them.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.38.1-38.12
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• 2023

Background: Poor disease management and irregular vector control could predispose sheltered animals to disease such as feline Bartonella infection, a vector-borne zoonotic disease primarily caused by Bartonella henselae. Objectives: This study investigated the status of Bartonella infection in cats from eight (n = 8) shelters by molecular and serological approaches, profiling the CD4:CD8 ratio and the risk factors associated with Bartonella infection in shelter cats. Methods: Bartonella deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer gene, followed by DNA sequencing. Bartonella IgM and IgG antibody titre, CD4 and CD8 profiles were detected using indirect immunofluorescence assay and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Results: B. henselae was detected through PCR and sequencing in 1.0% (1/101) oral swab and 2.0% (1/50) cat fleas, while another 3/50 cat fleas carried B. clarridgeiae. Only 18/101 cats were seronegative against B. henselae, whereas 30.7% (31/101) cats were positive for both IgM and IgG, 8% (18/101) cats had IgM, and 33.7% (34/101) cats had IgG antibody only. None of the eight shelters sampled had Bartonella antibody-free cats. Although abnormal CD4:CD8 ratio was observed in 48/83 seropositive cats, flea infestation was the only significant risk factor observed in this study. Conclusions: The present study provides the first comparison on the Bartonella spp. antigen, antibody status and CD4:CD8 ratio among shelter cats. The high B. henselae seropositivity among shelter cats presumably due to significant flea infestation triggers an alarm of whether the infection could go undetectable and its potential transmission to humans.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.759-761
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• 2013

Lymphatic filariasis is a common parasitic disease of cats in tropical regions including Thailand. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of ivermectin against microfilariae of Brugia pahangi in naturally infected cats. Eight cats naturally infected with B. pahangi were divided into control (untreated) and treated groups. Cats in the latter group were given ivermectin injection at 400 ${\mu}g/kg$ weekly for 2 months. Microfilariae were counted every week until 48 weeks. Microfilaremia was significantly decreased in the treated group 4 weeks after starting the treatment and become zero at week 9 and afterwards. On the other hand, cats in the control group had high microfilaremia throughout the study. It was successful to treat and control B. pahangi infection in naturally infected cats using ivermectin.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.70.1-70.7
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• 2020

Background: Oral neoplasia has been reported to account for 6-7% of all canine cancer and 3% of all feline cancers. To the authors' knowledge the last epidemiologic analysis of general oral cancer in dogs and cats was published in 1976. Objectives: The goal of this study was to report contemporary demographic information regarding oral tumors in dogs and cats. Methods: Information was collected from cats or dogs diagnosed with oral neoplasia from the Veterinary Medical Data Base. Medical records representing cases that presented to one of 26 veterinary teaching hospitals from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2017 were included. Results: A total of 1,810 dogs and 443 cats were identified. A total of 962 cases (53.6%) of canine oral tumors were classified as malignant and 455 cases as benign (25.4%). The majority of feline oral tumors were classified as malignant (257 cases, 58.1%) and only a few benign (11 cases, 2.5%). The incidence of oral tumors was calculated to be 4.9 per 1,000 dogs (0.5%) and 4.9 per 1,000 cats (0.5%). Conclusions: This incidence of oral tumors is considerably higher than previously reported in both dogs and cats. These results provide valuable information for generation of hypotheses for future investigations of breed-based and pathology-based oral neoplastic studies.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.13.1-13.12
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• 2022

Background: Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans and most animals and has a very high infection rate worldwide, including in China. The number of people infected with T. gondii in China increases with the number of cats. Objectives: We investigated the seropositive rate of T. gondii in cats over the last five years and analyzed the risk factors via meta-analysis. Methods: We retrieved 20 studies, with a total of 5,158 cats, published between 2016 and 2020, used the DerSimonian-Laird model and calculated seroprevalence estimates with the variance stabilizing double arcsine transformation. Results: The overall seroprevalence rate after sinusoidal conversion was 19.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.9-23.9; 966/5,158), lower than the domestic report from 1995 to 2015 (24.5%, 95% CI, 20.1-29.0). There was substantial heterogeneity among studies (χ² = 262.32; p < 0.001; I² = 64.6%). Regression analysis of possible heterogeneous causes and subgroup analysis showed that age and whether cats were stray or not have a significant effect on the seropositive rate. Conclusions: Articles published in recent five years suggest that the seroprevalence estimates of Toxoplasma gondii in cats has decreased. Cats, as the final host of T. gondii, are an important cause of the spread of the parasite, and this is an important concern for public health.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.691-694
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of Dirofilaria immitis infection among stray cats in Korea using nested PCR. We included 235 stray cats (121 females and 114 males) and evaluated each for the presence of feline heartworm infection. Blood samples were collected from 135 cats in Daejeon, 50 cats in Seoul, and 50 cats from Gyeonggi-do (Province). Of the 235 DNA samples, 14 (6.0%) were positive for D. immitis. The prevalence of infection in male cats (8/114, 7.0%) tended to be higher than that in female cats (6/121, 5.0%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In each location, 8, 2, and 4 cats were positive for infection, respectively, based on DNA testing. No significant differences in the prevalence were observed among the geographic regions, although the rate of infection was higher in Gyeonggi-do (8.0%) than Daejeon (5.9%) and Seoul (4.0%). We submitted 7 of the 14 D. immitis DNA-positive samples for sequencing analysis. All samples corresponded to partial D. immitis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences with 99% homology to the D. immitis sequence deposited in GenBank (accession no. FN391553). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey using nested PCR to analyze the prevalence of D. immitis in stray cats in Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.257-265
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• 2020

The outbreak of human toxoplasmosis can be attributed to ingestion of food contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasmosis recently increased in domestic and stray dogs and cats. It prompted studies on the zoonotic infectious diseases transmitted via these animals. Sero- and antigen prevalences of T. gondii in dogs and cats were surveyed using ELISA and PCR, and B1 gene phylogeny was analyzed in this study. Toxoplasmosis antibodies were measured on sera of 403 stray cats, 947 stray dogs, 909 domestic cats, and 2,412 domestic dogs collected at nationwide regions, Korea from 2017 to 2019. In addition, whole blood, feces, and tissue samples were also collected from stray cats (1,392), stray dogs (686), domestic cats (3,040), and domestic dogs (1,974), and T. gondii-specific B1 gene PCR was performed. Antibody prevalence of stray cats, stray dogs, domestic cats, and domestic dogs were 14.1%, 5.6%, 2.3%, and 0.04%, respectively. Antigen prevalence of these animals was 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.4%, respectively. Stray cats revealed the highest infection rate of toxoplasmosis, followed by stray dogs, domestic cats, and domestic dogs. B1 gene positives were 5 of stray cats, and identified to high/moderate pathogenic Type I/III group. These findings enforce that preventive hygienic measure should be strengthened at One Health level in dogs and cats, domestic and stray, to minimize human toxoplasmosis infections.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.205-211
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• 2009

Perioperative pain relief is essential in veterinary practice. However, the cat is one of the most poorly understood species regarding pain control management. Ovariohysterectomy(OHE) produces considerable postoperative pain in cats. Practitioners are often reluctant to administer analgesics due to lack of familiarity with available drugs, concern about side effects, or frustration with the need for record keeping of controlled substances. The purpose of this study was to determine if intraperitoneal administration of bupivacaine can provide relief of pain following OHE in cats. Twelve healthy female cats were randomly divided into two groups. OHE was performed under general inhalation anesthesia. Just prior to complete closure of the linea alba, 6 cats in SAL group received 0.88 ml/kg 0.9% saline, 6 cats in BUP group received 4.4 mg/kg 0.75% bupivacaine diluted to an equivalent volume with saline in the intraperitoneal space. Cats were scored at 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours post-extubation by one observer. Cats were evaluated using a visual analogue scale(VAS) and composite pain scale(CPS) that included physiologic variables. There were no significant differences in body weight, anesthesia time, surgery time, and incision length between the two groups. Cats in the BUP group had significantly(p<0.05) lower VAS-pain scores than cats in the SAL group at 4, 8, 12 hours after surgery. Cats in the BUP group had significantly lower CPS scores than cats in the SAL group at 8, 12 hours after surgery. No adverse side effects were observed. These results support that the intraperitoneal administration of bupivacaine following OHE can be used for the prevention of postoperative pain and pain-induced behavioral changes in cats.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.353-359
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• 2010

Nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 19 leopard cats (Prionailurus bangalensis euptilura) obtained from Seoul grand park zoo in South Korea were determined for analysing genetic diversity. In the leopard cats, 3 haplotypes of the partial cytochrome b sequences (603 base-pairs, bp) were identified. Haplotypes obtained from those genes showed existences of at least 3 maternal lineages of leopard cats in Korea. Tamura-Nei nucleotide distance among 3 haplotypes were 0.00. Molecular phylogenetic tree showed the similar clustering of haplotypes for genes. Meanwhile, no individual variations within the leopard cats in S. Korea. Genetic surveillance system of leopard cats in S. Korea is warranted for maintaining biological conservation.